Borders, Violence, History

The tour through selected exhibition rooms presents rare objects from the collection that illustrate the history of German division, flight, and violence. It spans the spectrum from a family’s flight into Reformed exile during the confessional schism of the Holy Roman Empire to a boundary stone from a city divided after 1914 on the German-Dutch border. In this way, the tour sheds light on experiences of flight and border crossings within Germany that predate the well-known division of Germany during the Cold War.

The highlight of the tour, however, is the original diary of student Peter Rutzen from 1964. Using city maps, newspapers, and eyewitness accounts, the tour explains his dangerous attempt to dig an escape tunnel under Bernauer Strasse. The tunnel enabled 57 people to flee to the West and ended in a shootout with the Stasi.

#65ConstructionOfTheWall

Registration takes place on-site at the ticket office.